


Focus

by shelterforananimal



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, Geno does, Getting Together, M/M, Sid Doesn't Play Hockey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24481261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shelterforananimal/pseuds/shelterforananimal
Summary: Sid's a cameraman. Geno likes to make his job difficult.
Relationships: Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin
Comments: 29
Kudos: 131
Collections: The 2020 Sid/Geno Exchange





	Focus

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CloudCover](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudCover/gifts).



> Okay so the story goes: I got 10k into my original idea and realized I wouldn't finish in time, so I made this. I WILL be releasing the original though! It just can't technically be a part of the exchange because it won't be done in time. Hope you enjoy this as well.

Filming for In The Room is always a little more involved than the ones where they just sit players down and ask them questions. For one, the room isn’t a closed set, so there are always people coming in and out and walking through shots. Then there’s the fact that the players actually had to do things, so the crew has to get their shots while somehow staying out of the way of two dozen large men. Sid is used to it by now, and pretty decent at avoiding errant hands and pads as he films. The most difficult part, however, is that sometimes the director gets a bit vague and just says “go get B-roll” like Sid’s supposed to know exactly what he wants. Luckily, after a year with the Penguins, he’s gotten a solid idea of what shots the director likes.

He knows this episode is going to have a focus on Fleury, but the other cameraperson is already on top of everything Marc-Andre-related, so Sid hits record and gathers some general footage. The guys walking in, unbuckling pads, joking with each other. He tries his best to be professional at work, focusing on his camera and not much else. The only thing that makes that difficult is a certain player and his habit of pestering Sid while he works. Geno’s the last one in off the ice, and a few minutes separated from the rest of the team. Probably had to talk to one of the coaching staff, which happens often enough that it doesn’t even phase Sid. He’s kneeling in front of Letang to get a nice dramatic shot of him staring into the distance as he unravels tape from his pads, when Geno “trips” over Sid’s foot far too comically for it to be genuine.

Sid hears him say “Oops, sorry Sid” in a tone that makes his shit-eating grin apparent even without Sid looking up to see it. Which he doesn’t, because giving Geno attention just eggs him on, and this is gonna be a great shot if he can just keep still. He’ll give Geno attention in a minute, he just needs to capture the way a strand of Letang’s hair has fallen in his face. The fans are gonna love that.

He gets a few experimental shots of the room at large, of the minutiae of changing from interesting angles. None of them will be used, most likely, but he likes the way they look. When he turns from a shot of the top cubby of McCann’s locker, he runs directly into Geno, who had been standing behind him.

“Geno!” he admonishes, balancing his camera with one hand so he can smack Geno’s chest with the other. Geno just laughs, clapping Sid on the shoulder. He retreats to his stall and continues undressing, and Sid follows him over, if only to get some good B-roll of his huge hands undoing his skate laces. It’s not unusual for him to get a little too focused on what he’s filming, but Geno’s hands definitely don’t help keep him from getting a bit  _ too _ focused. His long, strong fingers making quick work of the knots he’d tied earlier is as good as a swinging pocket watch to Sid, pulling him in and making him double check his focus so he can at least justify this probably too long clip.

“Doing feature on my hands?” Geno teases, breaking Sid out of his stupor. It’s only by the grace of years of training that his camera stays steady even as he sputters at Geno’s comment.

“No!” Sid responds, perhaps a tad too forceful. Geno’s grin simply grows, his hands not pausing in their endeavor. He always thinks he’s so damn cute, messing with Sid as he works. It’s been this way since the beginning, over a year ago. Geno teases and bumps into Sid and sticks his tongue out at the camera, and Sid does his best to act like it’s not cute, even though it kind of really is. Honestly, it’s not fair how cute a twenty-five year old can be, in Sid’s opinion. Probably because he’s had a crush on Geno since he’d started with the Pens, and Geno’s insistence on making him laugh had made him even more smitten, but he’s not going to address that right now.

The director gives him some concrete instructions then: get shots of Dupuis undoing his pads, and Kunitz looking dramatic, and he should be done. So Sid does as he’s told, manually adjusting his focus as he goes because, despite years in the industry, he still doesn’t trust the auto-focus. Perhaps he doesn’t trust it  _ because _ of his years in the industry.

Geno returns when Sid’s packing up his equipment. As he’s tucking away his white balance card, Geno brushes fingertips across the back of Sid’s neck to tickle him. Sid bats his hand away without looking up, smiling nonetheless.

“How shoot go?” Geno asks, fully changed, if not showered. The smell of him might bother others, but Sid’s spent enough time around sweaty men to be immune to it now. He disassembles his camera as they chat, tucking the pieces away in their designated slots. After recapping the last couple weeks of mundane stuff they hadn’t had time to tell each other, Sid decides it’s his turn to tease Geno, for once.

“You’ve gotta stop looking at the camera when I’m filming you,” he says, which is actually a pretty valid criticism, considering how often Geno looks at the camera, ruining Sid’s shot.

“Not looking at the camera,” Geno replies easily. Sid’s about to ask what the hell he’s looking at, then, when he realizes that there’s one thing behind the camera. Him.

“Oh,” he says, illustrating why he didn’t major in english. That’s-- is that-- Geno’s saying-- he’s saying that he looks at Sid, right? Like, that’s not a conceited thing to conclude? Sid’s not just projecting some wish fulfilment here, right? He’s like, 98% sure that’s what Geno meant, but not  _ entirely _ sure, and even if he were, he wouldn’t know how to respond, so the way he  _ does _ respond is as such:

“They said I’m going on the next roadie with you guys,” he says, because he’s a stupid idiot who doesn’t know how to respond to flirting. It’s something Geno probably already knows, but it’s also not acknowledging what he just brought up, which is probably better, in the long run.

“I know,” Geno replies, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as Sid hefts his camera bag over his own, “Excited?” Sid’s been on road trips before, so it’s nothing particularly exciting, but he finds himself antsy nonetheless. If it’s because he gets to spend time with a certain player, well, no jury could convict him.

“Know a good restaurant in Newark,” Geno continues when Sid doesn’t reply. He follows Sid out of the room and toward the media equipment cage. If Sid had any doubt what Geno was aiming for with the last comment, that doubt is quelled with this comment. No one just points out something like that unless they’re testing the waters on whether you might want to go with them.

“Oh, I don’t, uh,” Sid starts, falters, continues, “I don’t really date when I’m supposed to be working.” Geno’s face falls.

“Not that I don’t want to!” he corrects, because it’s not that he’s opposed to dating Geno, “Just not when I’m on the job.” Geno still looks a bit uneasy at that, like he’s not quite sure if he’s being rejected or not. Sid stops just short of the cage, turns to him, and squeezes his arm.

“I would love to go to dinner with you,” he clarifies, feeling his cheeks heat at his own boldness, “Just maybe wait until we get back?” Geno beams at that, running a hand up Sid’s arm just-this-side of friendly.

“Yeah,” he says, “Good places to eat in Pittsburgh, too.” Sid smiles back, sure his face is fully red at this point, and follows his instinct to peck a kiss onto Geno’s left cheek. Geno is quite literally taken aback by that, but his smile only grows brighter.


End file.
